FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines has announced it will launch non-stop Manila-Auckland flights beginning December this year.
The non-stop PR 218 flight to Auckland will operate every Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday beginning Dec. 6, departing Manila at 11:15 p.m., and arriving Auckland at 2:05 p.m. local time the following day.
The return flight to Manila PR 219, on the other hand, leaves Auckland every Friday, Saturday and Tuesday at 12:30 a.m. local time and touches down in Manila at 5:45 a.m.
The new flight service makes PAL the only Philippine carrier which offers the quickest and most convenient flight option between Manila and Auckland.
With the forthcoming non-stop service, travel time to Auckland will be reduced to 10 hours from the current 12.15 hour Manila-Auckland via Cairns route.
PAL will be utilizing its twin-aisle dual class 254-seater A340s from its single-aisle 156-seater A320s thus increasing capacity by 60 percent.
Passengers arriving in Manila from Auckland can conveniently connect to PAL’s domestic and international network such as Manila-London, Asia, North America and the Middle East.
PAL will continue operating the Manila-Auckland via Cairns route until Dec. 5, 2017.
The introduction of non-stop Manila-Auckland flights will coincide with the suspension of the Manila-Auckland via Cairns service.
Passengers with confirmed tickets for Manila-Cairns vv., flights dated Dec. 6, 2017 onwards may reroute to Manila-Darwin/ Brisbane/Melbourne/ or Sydney and connect to Cairns via other airline and vice versa.
Passengers with confirmed tickets for Cairns-Auckland vice versa flights will be endorsed to other airlines.
Passengers with confirmed tickets for Manila-Auckland (via Cairns) dated Dec. 6 onwards will be automatically accommodated on the non-stop flights.
All affected passengers due to the suspension of the Manila–Auckland (via Cairns) service have the option to rebook on the dates of their choice or to refund their tickets.